Birmingham and Solihull Bees are playing a charity match to raise money for the Matt Gallagher Foundation

BIRMINGHAM and Solihull Bees RFC hosted a charity rugby match on their President’s Day in aid of the Matt Gallagher Foundation.

Club president Rona Higgins decided to reach out and support the foundation with a lunch, auction, raffle and match and raised £5,200.

Matt used to play for the club and was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in October 2023.

He and his family set up the Matt Gallagher Foundation to help others and raise awareness of MND.

Higgins contacted former and current players to arrange a match between the Bees and Guanos RFC, also celebrating 20 years since Solihull beat Wasps.

Guanos RFC was established in 1981 and plays free-flowing festival rugby in charity and celebratory matches.

And the Guanos featured a host of talented stars, including former players from Scotland, Ulster, Moseley, Stourbridge, Worcester, Northampton and youth players from England and Wales.

Damien Webb kindly gave up his time to referee the match as the Bees raced into a 24-0 lead at half time with current and former players going over for the tries.

However, the Guanos staged a superb comeback as former Worcester and Scotland players Lex Grove and Chris Pennell both touched down to reduce the deficit to three points at half-time.

Some players attended both teams that day, including Dave Knight and Matt’s son Jack.

A thrilling second half saw the game end 48-42 in favor of the Bees.

Following the raffle and post-match auction, the club raised a total of £5,200 for the Matt Gallagher Foundation while raising awareness of the MND.